Brasserie NITZ — Restaurant in Nuremberg

Good intentions, bad execution. Table of 4 and all of us were disappointed. We had the Bouillabaisse as a starter and a Nitz plateau. The Bouillabaisse was salty but eatable - still did not finish it. Two had the steak tartare, one the mussels and I had the lobster ravioli. The steaks tartare were so salty they could not taste the meat. The fries (3 portions) were uneatable: had to ask for new portions with less salt and still had to remove the salt on each frie before eating. I personally got the lobster ravioli. Ate one bite, way too salty, they gave me another one. Still too salty, ate only one bite. Asked the rest of the table to taste it to make sure it was not just me finding that too salty. I was told this is because it's a reduction and the flavours are more intense and concentrated. Well this is not the issue : if a bouillon is not too salty from the start, it won't be when ready to be served.

This is a shame and we were all extremely disappointed. While the salt is a flavour enhancer, too much is really not good. In France (and this is a French restaurant) too much salt is used in restaurant with low quality products to hide the taste of the dish. Restaurants would normally salt their dishes and a salt shaker will be on the table for people to season to taste. In culinary school they say that too much salt can't be fixed, so better not put too much and let the guests do as they wish.

On a positive note: waiters were nice. They offered two espressos and gave a discount on the...

First things first, the location and concept is, at least for Nuremberg, spectacular. Neat, chic interior and a riverside terrasse, a Molteni stove as the heart of an open kitchen and a menu focusing on seafood platters and brasserie fare. Sounds to me like a place to pop a few bottles and indulge in some nonchalant hedonism. Reality isn’t quite there yet. Yes, the place is gorgeous and yes, the wine list has some decent choices that were popped. But the food needs improvement. While the fresh oysters were immaculate and the starter platter still pretty good, the bouillabaisse bombed. The deep aromas of fish carcasses simmered for hours and that lovely saffron punch was totally lacking. To make things worse the broth seemed to have been thickened by a dairy agent (cream?). But then, how much more can be done for the laughable 13 Euros the (small) portion is sold for? Anyway, steak frites was a stable main dish, but again nothing to really rave about. Service was a bit hit or miss, ranging from indiscriminate to absolutely fabulous. My 4 starts here are given due to the fact this restaurant is still super new and I have high hopes for improvement, because a place like this was dearly missed in Nuremberg....

Decent food, a bit too expensive, bad service but a gorgeous interior.

I won't get into all of the small minor errors that happened in our service because there's honestly so many that it isn't constructive to list. The service team need to be trained better and know what they are doing, it's a complete mess at the moment.

I am not blaming the people because it isn't their fault, clearly the training regime for these service staff isn't where it needs to be.

As for the food:

Good: steak frites (perfectly cooked), oysters

OK: gougères, snails, bread and butter

Disappointing: onion soup

The biggest saving grace is the interior of the restaurant, which is absolutely stunning, perfectly placed on the river bank.

If this restaurant could improve the training of its service staff and push some of these decent dishes to really fulfil their potential, then it could be an absolute highlight of Nuremberg. The potential is for sure there, they have not reached it yet.

Edit: The restaurant replied saying they could not find my name on their bookings list, it's because it was booked under my wife's name. I will not give the date and time I went because I don't want to get the...